Hamilton claims Leclerc is ‘Mr Ferrari’ as Sainz says former team mate is in ‘sweetest spot’ of his career

Charles Leclerc has had praise heaped upon him by both his current and former Ferrari team mates, as Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz respectively paid tribute to the Monegasque.

Eight-time Grand Prix winner Leclerc enjoyed a strong 2024 alongside Sainz, before the Spaniard made way for seven-time champion Hamilton at the Scuderia.

And asked in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Grand Prix what he’d made of his new team mate Leclerc thus far, Hamilton joked: “Beside his great hair, his eyes… he’s a good looking lad, you know [laughs]… No, I would say his work ethic – it’s been really good.

“I didn’t know naturally [about his way of working] – you don’t know what happens behind closed doors. Naturally I think every driver works really hard, but every driver has a different method in how they achieve their ultimate performance, and it’s been really interesting to see that his is not too dissimilar to mine, and you just see a hardworking kid just getting on with it.”

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc attend the street parade during the Scuderia Ferrari HP Drivers' — Hamilton and Leclerc attend the street parade during the Scuderia Ferrari HP Drivers’ Presentation by UniCredit event in Milan

Hamilton went on to herald Leclerc as ‘Mr Ferrari’, the Monegasque having joined the Scuderia in 2019 after a sole rookie year at Sauber.

“He’s obviously been in the team a long time, it’s his second team and obviously the team he was with before was obviously relatively short there,” said Hamilton, “and then he’s had this amazing time at Ferrari. So he is very much ‘Mr Ferrari’ and it’s been really cool to work alongside him, and I’m really looking forward to working alongside him for the year.”

Newly-minted Williams driver Sainz, meanwhile, called Leclerc a “great ambassador” for Ferrari, while also praising his growth as a driver and “human being”.

“I think Charles has been doing a great job in representing the Ferrari colours, the Ferrari brand, this last… six, seven years of his career,” said Sainz.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Scuderia Ferrari talks with — Sainz and Hamilton praised Leclerc

“I think no one needs to talk about his talent and his speed, everyone knows that,” added Sainz. “But in terms of how he behaves, how he treats everyone in the team, how he takes the Ferrari brand all around the world, I think he’s doing an incredible job and he’s part of that team growth that Ferrari has seen recently, and I think in that, Ferrari has a great ambassador also.

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“Good on him, good job – I think he’s been doing that and progressing both as a driver and also as a human being all these years. He’s now probably in one of his sweetest spots of his career, he feels mature, comfortable and probably ready to win, so let’s see what they can do this year.”

Attention now turns to the on-track action at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, as F1 fans prepare to see the first competitive volleys of 2025.